Blak Coca-Cola Taste Review

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BLAK COKE soda review
A review by Cartoonist Jeff Swenson

Blak Coca-Cola is another twist on the new soda wars to see who can come up with the strangest combinations. Oddly enough, I like the combination of coke and coffee.

I'm always game to try a new flavor of soda or a new drink that is probably bad for my body in general. Admittedly, most of these flavors are mostly hype and graphic design but sometimes you come across something pretty interesting.

Blak Coca-Cola is one such drink that is definitely interesting. It is, according the a Coca Cola press release found here, a "fusion drink." That's pretty much a meaningless term since every drink is a fusion of of several different flavors including the fusing of corn syrup and sugar with more corn syrup and sugar. The fusion in Blak Coca-Cola is Coke and Coffee. Something I would never think of creating. It just sounds bad, really bad.

"Imagine the refreshing taste of an ice cold Coca-Cola that finishes with a rich essence of coffee," says Katie Byne, senior Vice President of the soda giant. And she's right. That's exactly the experience I had when I first tried the drink. It first tasted exactly like a Coke and then there was a coffee aftertaste. The first sip felt weird. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. To be honest I'm a wimp when it comes to coffee. I have to drown the coffee taste in shots of Irish Cream, sugar, creamer and anything else I can get my hands on. I love the smell of coffee but the taste of black coffee doesn't appeal to me. The coffee aftertaste in Coca-Cola black did appeal to me. It wasn't overly strong; it reminded me of coffee but had no bitterness to it.

After that first taste test I went and went and bought a 4 pack and it soon was gone in the span of 2 days. I usually make it a habit not to buy heavily caffeinated drinks even though I love them. I'm a big Monster Energy drink fan but I had to give up the habit because it began wreaking havoc on my sensitive stomach. God, I used to love downing a Monster Energy drink on a slow afternoon while drawing. Over-caffeinated drinks also send my brain into overtime and I can't stop thinking about office work up until the wee hours of the morning. For the most part I drink caffeine-free Diet Pepsi or caffeine free Diet Dr. Pepper. The Coca-Cola Blak isn't a behemoth like Monster Energy or Full Throttle so the amount of "energy" in it doesn't physically do me in.

Fact is, the bottle is very deceptive. At 1.69 per bottle (if bought individually) you are getting 8 oz of soda-coffee. The bottle itself is thick like the old classic coke bottles made out of glass. Originally I thought it was plastic and the heaviness was part of the drink--not so. This is my one big complaint about all of these energy drinks. I have a hard time believing that the manufacturing process is so intense and expensive that these 8 oz drinks have to cost twice as much or even 3 times as much as a regular 12 oz can of soda. It's all marketing and probably our foolish desire to have something where you pay so much for so little. Even Monster Energy and all of it's clones are around 2 to 3 bucks and mostly liquefied sugar. The only way to get a good deal is buy in bulk and see if there a special where you can use your Safeway or Albertson's discount card (you know, the card where they are collecting information on your shopping habits so that one day they can turn it over to the government).

So all in all, I may be the rare exception to the rule but I like the taste of Coca-Cola Blak. It's different and odd, but after drinking more than one it can be very addictive. Possibly that's the caffeine but I honestly think the taste grew on me. Strictly soda drinkers may not care for it. Those that like soda and coffee I recommend giving it a taste-test.

Here's another interesting article on Coca-Cola Blak at Consumer Reports. Apparently there is a difference in taste between the American version of Blak and the French version of Blak. The French version has a much more pronounced coffee taste while the American version is sweeter and less coffee-like. I doubt they would sell the French version here in the US due to all of the morons who associate French goods with French Government policies (as if manufacturers have control over what idiot politicians do). If anyone can get their hands on the French version, please email on the details.

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